Bu Eunseol gazed at the pair of eyes glittering within the curtain that seemed to cover the entire world and asked, “What is that?”
“It is a killing formation made from the ritual artifact of the Dark God Heavenly Lord.”
The woman in white spoke with a serious expression.
“If your gaze meets the eyes created within that Black Blood Dark Curtain, all your power will be blocked.”
Inside the black curtain spread across the sky, the red eyes that had appeared showed dark crimson blood vessels. Like a pulsing vein, they emitted an ominous aura and a strange radiance at a steady rhythm. The moment his gaze touched those wide-open eyes, his body grew powerless as if being sucked into an abyss, and his mind felt as though it would be buried in darkness and vanish.
Swish, swish, swish.
At that moment, the Ink-Black Troops wearing masks modeled after long, sharp bird beaks rushed toward Bu Eunseol.
Their appearance resembled a flock of ominous crows covering the night sky.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
They flew through the sky, pouring down concealed weapons filled with tremendous destructive power.
‘My internal power is disappearing.’
Just as the woman in white had said, the moment his gaze met the eyes created within the curtain, the power inside his body began to fade slowly.
Bu Eunseol, who had been about to unfold the Waning Moon, Dawn Star Form, had no choice but to drain the strength from his entire body and use only the subtle principles of the Formless Beginning Scattering Form to deflect the concealed weapons.
Swish!
Every time the Silent Tiger Soul Sword drew a circle in the air, the concealed weapons—each carrying enough force to split Mount Tai—fell powerlessly to the ground.
Because his martial arts were so advanced, he was lightly crushing the enemy’s power using Crystal Divine Energy and Vacuum principles—techniques that ordinary martial artists would find extremely difficult to succeed with even if they exerted their full strength.
Boom!
Sensing the greatness of Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess, the Ink-Black Troops began shooting sword energy from a distance while soaring through the sky. Their movements were as fast as light, yet completely irregular. Moreover, they were employing a bizarre stealth technique that made it difficult to land a hit.
When he unfolded his sword technique, they would vanish for an instant before reappearing. Their bodies would mix together in the darkness, only to fly in from completely different directions the next moment.
Whirr.
At that moment, the woman in white, who had been frantically dodging the attacks, stretched one hand toward Bu Eunseol and shouted,
“While I pour out my spell, I can block the energy of the Black Blood Dark Curtain.”
As a mysterious light flowed from her palm, the strange power that had been sealing his internal energy vanished in an instant.
‘So one must fight sorcery with sorcery.’
The countless enemies that had appeared so far had all used secret techniques that restricted the internal power, including inner energy. Even under such adverse conditions and trials, Bu Eunseol had faced his opponents by fully displaying every ability he possessed.
Yet with a single wave of the woman in white’s hand, that restriction had been lifted instantly…
It was impossible not to feel somewhat hollow.
‘That said, I have no intention of learning sorcery now.’
“Instead, finish them quickly.”
The woman in white judged that, even though Bu Eunseol had lost all his power, it would be better to leave the Ink-Black Troops to him rather than exert her own strength, since he was handling them using only the subtle principles of martial arts.
“Understood.”
Having regained his power, Bu Eunseol’s eyes radiated a brilliant light.
Boom!
He immediately used the Supreme Heavenly Flow to slice through the Ink-Black Troops.
His swordsmanship grew deeper with each passing day. He had now reached a level where he could unleash tremendous power using only the subtle principles of martial arts, even without a single strand of internal energy.
Slash! Papapapa!
With his power restored and his swordsmanship having reached the pinnacle, a terrifying inner energy accompanied it.
Even the Ink-Black Troops—who were said to be like avatars of the Dark God Heavenly Lord—could not resist and turned to dust in an instant.
Whirr.
As the Ink-Black Troops fell helplessly,
Flash!
A red light began to flow from the eyes densely embedded in the Black Blood Dark Curtain.
Then, black haze rose from the bodies of the Ink-Black Troops.
Thud. Sluuuuurp.
They folded the wings that had been launching concealed weapons and drew blood swords from their palms, from which blood dripped steadily.
Boom!
They turned into streaks of light and began attacking Bu Eunseol.
Swish! Boom!
The agility of those who had drawn their swords had increased several times over. From their blood swords, sword energy three zhang high surged upward.
The Black Blood Dark Curtain could not only restrict the enemy’s power but could also multiply the abilities of the Ink-Black Troops several times over.
‘In that case, I must remove the source first.’
Saaaaah.
Before long, white mist began to rise from Bu Eunseol’s body.
He had unfolded the tenth form of the Formless Heavenly Flow—Martial Mist and Waves—which contained the energy of nature.
―Kaaaaaah!
As the mist-like sword energy, which sought to return everything to its natural state, spread in all directions, the eyes embedded in the Black Blood Dark Curtain began to emit strange screams.
‘So not all of them were the true bodies.’
When he unfolded the Martial Mist and Waves, among the eyes embedded in the Black Blood Dark Curtain, one in particular sparkled like a black jewel.
It was not that every eye embedded there was exerting power; there was a separate true body.
Flash!
Bu Eunseol moved at ultra-high speed and launched sword energy at the black eye.
Rumble.
The sky and earth shook, and the eyes in the Black Blood Dark Curtain began to disappear one by one.
“Amazing.”
The woman in white, who had been pouring out her power, let out an exclamation.
To destroy the Black Blood Dark Curtain—created from the soul sorcery artifact of the Dark God Heavenly Lord—using only swordsmanship?
Moreover, that mist-like power contained the subtle principles of the Natural Sword, a legendary sword art that orthodox sect swordsmen could only dream of.
“Just who are you…?”
As she approached Bu Eunseol,
Clack, clack, clack.
The Ink-Black Troops suddenly began to form ranks.
Floating in the air, they maintained a formation that resembled a single giant.
“Is that also sorcery?”
Bu Eunseol unfolded the Waning Moon, Dawn Star Form once more toward the Ink-Black Troops, who were maintaining their unusual formation while launching attacks.
Boom!
However, an unexpected situation occurred.
They blocked the Waning Moon, Dawn Star Form while maintaining their formation, as if they had become one body.
It looked as though a giant had raised a massive sword to block the attack.
Boom! Paaa!
The Ink-Black Troops began attacking Bu Eunseol.
While maintaining their formation, they poured out attacks whose range reached dozens of zhang. Moreover, despite maintaining a giant-like formation, their movements did not slow in the slightest. Instead, their agility had increased dozens of times over.
Boom! Whoooong!
They had become a nightmarish existence whose destructive power and agility had increased dozens of times—an opponent that could never be faced with ordinary martial arts.
Slash!
Bu Eunseol, who had further doubled his movement technique, became a single streak of light and attempted to defeat the Ink-Black Troops individually.
Boom. Rumble. Thud.
But the moment they were attacked by Bu Eunseol, they instantly scattered their formation. When they attacked Bu Eunseol, they once again maintained the giant-like formation.
The problem was that this formation was modeled after the secret principles of ancient formation techniques. The instant the ranks scattered in all directions, it became impossible for any attack to land. Therefore, no matter how fast Bu Eunseol moved and attacked, he could not cut down the Ink-Black Troops while they were scattered.
‘In that case, I must catch the instant they reform and destroy them.’
Flash!
Bu Eunseol unfolded the Unmatched Thunderbolt—the fastest sword art among those he could use—and struck at the fleeting moment when the Ink-Black Troops tried to reform their giant shape from scattered fragments.
Slash! Slash!
As he moved at ultra-high speed and created hundreds of sword shadows, Bu Eunseol’s figure vanished. Only transparent light and occasional purple lightning could be seen.
Rumble. Clack, clack, clack.
However, the Ink-Black Troops spread out in fragment form to counter him and did not maintain their giant formation.
It seemed they had no intention of forming ranks again until Bu Eunseol’s attack stopped.
‘They are reading my movements.’
Although the Ink-Black Troops moved like marionettes, they displayed an astonishing ability to predict even the movements and tactics of a high-level expert like Bu Eunseol.
“Ordinary attacks won’t work!” Bu Eunseol shouted loudly. “Can you temporarily stop the sorcery they are using?”
The woman in white spread both arms once more.
Whirr.
A white light spread out, and the movements of the giant Ink-Black Troops slowed somewhat. The scattered ranks began to be forcibly reassembled. She had neutralized the soul sorcery artifact possessed by the Ink-Black Troops using the mysterious spell known as the Six Paths Absolute Shadow.
“It will take about fifteen minutes to neutralize the artifact enough for you to destroy them!”
“I can hold out long enough.”
Bu Eunseol replied leisurely.
However, as if sensing the situation, the Ink-Black Troops changed their tactics.
Boom!
The moment the woman in white exerted her strange power, they created a massive sword and brought it down toward her head.
Because she was in the middle of casting her spell and the attack was so fast and unexpected, she could not dodge in time.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the massive sword stopped just one chi in front of her hair.
Before she knew it, Bu Eunseol had stepped in front of her and blocked the attack.
Crack.
The ground he stepped on split apart.
The attack launched by the Ink-Black Troops while maintaining their giant-like formation carried truly transcendent destructive power.
Drip.
In the end, a few drops of blood flowed from Bu Eunseol’s mouth. He had only just resolved his severed soul period and had not yet fully healed his internal injuries. Taking the blow head-on in this condition had caused him to suffer internal injuries once again.
Thud!
The Ink-Black Troops raised the massive sword high into the sky.
Whoooong! Boom!
They continued to slam it down toward the woman in white without pause.
Every time the attack split the ground, the earth shook, and Bu Eunseol’s body, which was blocking it, trembled continuously.
The Ink-Black Troops’ movements were extremely agile, and every time they swung the sword, a strange power spread out. Yet the woman in white, who was completing her spell, could not move at all and had to remain standing.
Bu Eunseol stood in front of her, continuously blocking the attacks raining down on her.
“You should dodge.”
The woman in white spoke when it seemed Bu Eunseol could no longer endure.
“I will try to hold on somehow.”
Bu Eunseol stood firm and said, “Complete the spell. I am fine.”
“But…”
“Since both of us are already injured, it will be difficult to shake off their pursuit anyway.”
Boom!
After deflecting another sword strike, Bu Eunseol shouted, “Didn’t you say we must kill them in one go if we want to avoid the Dark God Heavenly Lord’s pursuit?”
The woman in white bit her lip.
“Fine. Then hold on for five minutes.”
She closed her eyes completely and began reciting incantations in a low voice. The light flowing from both hands grew even more intense.
Finally, after about five minutes had passed,
“It’s done!”
She stretched out her hands with all her strength.
Saaaaah!
A brilliant white light flowed out, and spiderweb-like lines were drawn across the giant’s form.
“They won’t be able to change into fragment form anymore!”
‘There is no choice but to use Harmony.’
Originally, as Seolso, he should not use Harmony. But now there was no time to worry about such things.
Whirr.
At that moment, brilliant light burst from Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He had infused the sword with Harmony, uniting all the power within his body.
Crack, crack, crack.
A cracking sound came from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, which contained the power of Harmony, but it did not break and endured firmly.
Moreover, thanks to the Prajna Great Power becoming slightly more refined, a tremendous amount of power was being concentrated in a short time.
Drip.
The one who could not endure was Bu Eunseol himself.
Because of the deep internal injuries, he could not properly contain the power that needed to be united within his body.
‘I must endure.’
Crack, crack, crack.
Before long, his body began to split like a dry desert.
Having endured several injuries by force until now, his body could no longer withstand the power of Harmony and began to collapse.
‘I can do it.’
Bu Eunseol gritted his teeth tightly.
The reason he was strong was not simply because he had learned outstanding martial arts or possessed genius talent. It was because he constantly trained his body and researched martial arts in preparation for battles that could occur at any time and place.
To surpass his limits.
To leave behind not a single regret no matter the situation.
And such efforts became a solid pillar that supported him firmly the moment an absolute crisis arrived.
Crack, crack. Creak, creak.
Although his body swelled to the point of bursting, Bu Eunseol did not stop uniting the power within him.
Whirr.
Finally, a multicolored brilliant light began to gather on the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, and mysterious patterns started to be engraved on the scabbard as well.
The power of Harmony had been concentrated.
“Haaap!”
With a shout, the Silent Tiger Soul Sword sliced through the air.
At the same time, an indescribably intense light spread out and enveloped the bodies of the Ink-Black Troops.
Paaaaah!
Red cracks spread across the bodies of the Ink-Black Troops exposed to Harmony, and from those gaps, black liquid poured out endlessly.
When exposed to the light and waves of Harmony that annihilated everything, the Ink-Black Troops maintaining their giant formation slowly disintegrated, leaving only a small orb at the center.
Whoooosh!
The light of Harmony swept even that away cleanly in an instant.
Paaa!
It instantly annihilated the Black Blood Dark Curtain; the black curtain covering the sky that contained the eyes whose true bodies had vanished.
Shooo!
It spread far into the distant sky, leaving a long afterglow.
The world, now free of the light, fell into brief silence.
“Huff… huff…”
Bu Eunseol, breathing heavily, staggered.
This battle had been won not only because of his indomitable spirit, but because he had trained every single day and continued to exert relentless effort.
If he had stopped training even for a single day…
If he had been satisfied with his own martial prowess and lived comfortably even for a moment… the one who would have been defeated was Bu Eunseol.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Bu Eunseol, using the Silent Tiger Soul Sword as a cane to stand up, looked at the woman in white.
She looked extremely exhausted, as if she had exerted a powerful spell, but fortunately she had no visible injuries.
“You are not Seolso.”
The woman in white approached Bu Eunseol with a complicated expression.
“The disciple of the Bullet King could not possibly display such martial arts.”
Bu Eunseol could not say anything.
The Harmony he had just unfolded was a transcendent power strong enough to shatter even the Limitless Realm. No matter how much one said the student could surpass the master, it was impossible for him to possess a martial prowess that even his world-renowned master could not match.
Moreover, such a powerful expert would have no reason to live as a wanderer, hiding his identity and roaming the martial world.
“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
The woman in white sighed.
“Bu Eunseol.”
The most cold-hearted man in the world, yet also called Righteous Within Demonic, the one who only did what was right—the successor of the demonic path.
Only he possessed both such ability and such broad-mindedness.
“I’ve been found out.”
Bu Eunseol wiped his cold sweat and forced a smile.
Thanks to the stealth technique of the dark arts, his disguise had not broken, but his internal injuries were severe.
Because he had forcibly used Harmony, his muscles and bones were twisted, and the balance of his mixed power had collapsed. It felt as though his body would explode at any moment.
Thud.
In the end, he fell to one knee.
The woman in white bit her lip and supported him.
“No matter how merciful and fond of helping others you are, I still don’t understand.”
She shook her head.
“Is it a man’s pride? Or is it because you think a woman must be protected at all costs?”
“I simply realized that I needed to help you in order to defeat those things.”
“Helping the weak is ultimately just self-satisfaction, isn’t it?”
The woman said with a sigh.
“I never asked for help.”
“That’s right. It may indeed be self-satisfaction, just as you said.” Bu Eunseol gazed at the distant sky and spoke calmly. “However… I am simply walking the path I believe to be right.”
“The path you believe to be right.”
The woman’s pupils widened slightly.
It was certainly not mere self-satisfaction.
It was not to help her, nor out of pity.
He was simply walking the path he had chosen.
“Yes… I see.”
At that moment, an indescribable surge of emotion and reflection rose within the woman in white.
Looking up at the distant sky, she unconsciously spoke the words she had kept hidden in her heart.
“I have lived a different life from you. To survive, I stole from others and I killed.”
She bit her lip.
“At first, I thought I had no choice. To survive, I believed I had to do it.”
The woman fell silent for a moment and lowered her head.
“But deep down, I knew. I knew there were ways I could have survived without killing them.”
“……”
“I simply chose that path because it was easier and more certain… even though I knew it was wrong.”
She took a deep breath.
“That is why I could never shake off the guilt, and why my days remained painful.”
If she had truly believed that path was right, if it had truly been a path with no other choice, the guilt might have remained, but it would not have been so agonizing.
And seeing Bu Eunseol, she realized it clearly.
She had always been choosing the wrong path.
Those with conviction have no regrets.
Those with conviction do not care about others’ opinions, do not doubt themselves… they simply walk silently along the path they believe is right.
“I see.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes grew dim.
The power of Harmony was the strongest ability he could unfold. However, because he had used it by force, he was paying a more fatal price than any other power.
The irreversible injury he had suffered in the past while fighting the Fist Man of the Fist Man Heaven—was it not ultimately because the power of Harmony had rebounded?
“It seems there will be no more pursuit for now, so go on ahead.”
Bu Eunseol said calmly.
“I will rest here a little before leaving.”
Though he spoke that way, he was already on the verge of death.
Yet he showed no sign of it and tried to send her away first, in case that persistent and vicious Dark God Heavenly Lord sent pursuers again.
‘This man…’
Having understood Bu Eunseol’s heart, an infinite sorrow and pain suddenly welled up in the woman in white’s chest.
The men she had encountered throughout her life had all spent their days coveting a woman’s body to satisfy their desires, stealing from others, and living wildly and violently. Her world had always been stained with greed and violence, and justice had been nothing more than empty words.
“And.”
Bu Eunseol took out one of the Potential Demon Divine Pellets he had not been able to give her earlier from his pocket.
“Take one of these on your way. It will resolve the stagnant energy.”
Since the injuries he had suffered could not be cured by any spiritual medicine anyway, he gave her the last remaining Potential Demon Divine Pellet.
Tap.
The medicine bottle she received still carried warmth. At that moment, she felt an unfamiliar emotion seep deep into her chest.
Here was a man who showed not a single trace of greed or falsehood.
Even with a wounded body, he stood firm and tried to protect others.
Even the fingertips stained with blood were not for harming others, but for protecting them.
Drop.
That strange emotion turned into tears and wet her cheeks.
A truly genuine person she had thought could not exist in this world—a noble soul she had never seen before—was quietly fading away before her eyes.
For the first time, she did not wish for another person’s death.
And she felt a heart-wrenching earnestness.
‘He must not die.’
He is someone who deserves to live.
He is someone who must survive.
Thud.
Once again drawing up her strength, she reached out to Bu Eunseol, who was standing there panting.
A mysterious radiance swirled, and countless light particles began to pour into his body.
She was infusing him with all of her own life force, and although it was not the original source… it still mimicked the greatest power in the world—the Manifestation Divine Technique.
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